Toilet seat and cover hinges



L. H. COGGINS TOILET SEAT AND COVER HINGES April 21, 197.0

Filed July 31, 1967 Leslie H. Coggins United States Patent 3,506,983 TOILET SEAT AND COVER HINGES Leslie Harriman Coggins, Meriden, C0uu., assignor to J. B. Coggins Mfg. C0., a corporation of Connecticut Filed July 31, 1967, Ser. No. 657,229 Int. Cl. A47k 13/12 US. Cl. 4236 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinge assembly for toilet seat and cover members having a pair of seat knuckles and a pair of cover knuckles screw fastened to the seat or cover support means. and post means for mounting the assemblage to a commode, the knuckles being provided with cap means for concealing the screw fasteners.

The present invention relates to toilet seat and cover hinge assemblies and, in particular, to the construction of the individual hinge member per se.

It has become quite common in recent years to make hinge assemblies out of plastic components so as to harmonize more readily with modern bathroom colors and decorative combinations and to obviate the unsightly corrosion which inevitably accompanied hinge assemblies made of metal components. Plastic assemblies, representative of those now common, are shown in US. Patent 3,075,204 to E. Rocker, dated Jan. 29, 1963, U.S. Patent 3,046,570 to S. L. Young, dated July 31, 1962 and in the inventors U.S. design Patent 188,036 dated May 31, 1960.

While the disclosures of the above patents have gone a long way in beautifying toilet hinge assemblies, they have, unfortunately, not completely overcome the entire problem of corrosion. For all practicable purposes, hinge assemblies must still be fastened to the seat and cover by metal screws or other fasteners. Metal screws attract moisture and in time rust and discolor. The holes into which such screws are set further attract dirt which is both unsightly adn a health hazard.

Attempts have'ben made to mollify this problem by filling the screw hole with plastic, rubber or some other similar material. This expedient has not been successful because such materials dry, lose their adherency and become dislodged from the hinge member after only a short time in use. Further, such an expedient does not permit ready access to the screws for the purpose of repair. Another expedient is to use non-corrosive screws; however, it will be obvious that not only are such screws expensive but easily scratched or scored so as to lose v their non-corr0siveness.. Furthermore, neither of these expedients add much to the beauty and attractiveness of the assembly.

Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a hinge assembly for a toilet seat or toilet cover overcoming completely the defect of the obvious metal screw and its proclavities to rust.

It is another object to provide hinge members for seat and cover which lend themselves to greater degree of cleanliness and sanitation.

It is a further object to provide toilet hinge assemblies which permit great harmonization with the color and decorative combinations of modern bathrooms.

It is still another object to provide a simple, economical hinge assembly.

The foregoing objects, as well as other objects and advantages, will be readily apparent from the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the hinge assembly of the present invention attached to a seat and cover;

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FIG. 2 is a perspective, ex anded view of a hinge knuckle, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the cap shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cap taken along line 44 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the hinge knuckle of FIG. 2 taken along line 5-5.

Before turning to a detailed description of the present invention, it will be advantageous to discuss briefly some of the common elements of toilet hinges.

In FIG. 1, there is shown a seat 10, a cover 12 and a hinge assembly 14 comprising a pair of contoured seat hinge knuckles 16, a pair of contoured cover hinge knuckles 18 and an elongated bearing shaft 20. A pair of post members 22 are provided so that the entire assemblage could be mounted on a commode (not shown) substantially as shown in either of the aforementioned patents to Young or Rocker.

Each of the knuckles, whether for the seat or cover, comprises (see FIG. 2) a unitary symmetrical construction having a bearing 24, including a hole 26, a fastening leaf 28 including screw holes 30 and an angular interconnecting arm 32. Each knuckle has an undersurface 34 which is substantially flat and is adapted to lie flush against the smooth or upper surface of either seat or cover, an outer surface 36 into which the screw holes 30 are countersunk and vertical side and end walls 38.

From the aforementioned patents, it will be clear that various design modifications or ornamental distinctions may be employed in forming the hinge knuckles, for example, the angularity of the interconnecting arm portion may vary, the form of the bearing portion may change and the shape of the fastening leaf may be altered all within the teachings now well known in the art. However, these differences and distinctions are quite minor as concerns the objectives of the present invention which relates basically to overcoming the disadvantages of open countersunk metal screw fasteners. It is to be understood that the preceding description -was therefore general in nature and not to be taken as limiting of the present invention.

In overcoming the defects of the prior art devices, the present invention generally provides a cap device securely fitted over the fastening leaf portion of the hinge knuckle. The' cap is made to conform to the size and shape of the hinge leaf so as to inconspicuously hide and conceal the countersunk screws.

With reference to FIGS. 2-5, the particulars of the preferred form of the invention will be seen. In this form, the fastening leaf 28 is cut under or cut out at its upper surface face, or portion 40 so that surface 40 lies below the adjacent upper surface 36 of the interconnecting arm 32 and forms therewith a transverse shoulder 42. Adjacent the shoulder 42 the fastening leaf 28 is provided with a pair of vertical cuts or grooves 44 formed into opposite faces of the sidewalls 38. At the rear of the knuckle and along the junction of the rear wall and the undersurface 34, there is also provided a horizontal cutout or groove 46.

The cap adapted to fit over the fastening leaf 28 is shown in FIGS. 14 and comprises a flat top or web portion 52 and a depending skirt 54 along all of the outer edges. Conforming with the shape of the fastening leaf 28, the cap 50 does not have a skirt portion along the edge 56 which, as will be seen in FIG. 1, abuts adjacent the shoulder 42. The thickness of the top 52 of the cap 50 is equal to the depth between the face 40 and the adjacent upper surface 36. The skirt is of a length which reaches downwardly from the upper face 40 to the undersurface 34. Thus, by conforming the size and shape of the cap 50 to the size and shape of the fastening leaf 28, it will completely cover the entire leaf down to the surface of the toilet seat or toilet cover and will blend completely with the ornamental appearance of the knuckle.

The cap is secured to the knuckle by providing the depending skirt 54 with internal vertical flanges or detents 60 and a horizontal detent 62 in mating relationship with the vertical and horizontal grooves 44 and 46 respectively. It will be observed that the grooves 44 and 46 provide a triangular array in which the respective points are offset in vertical and horizontal planes so that cap 50 is firmly seated and secured to the knuckle simply by snapping the cap thereover. It will be observed that the horizontal de tent 62 and its mating groove are formed at the edge which abuts the flat surface of the seat or cover, thus, in effect, securing the cap between the screwed down portion of the knuckle and the surface of the seat or cover.

It was, of course, previously implied that the hinge components can and would preferably be made of plastic materials such as those disclosed in the aforementioned patents. The use of such materials renders the present invention of great utility since the cap 50 can easily and simply be made to conform in shape, dimension and color exactly to that of the remainder of the hinge assembly. Furthermore, plastic material renders the parts somewhat resilient, enabling them more easily to be snapped into place.

It will also be observed that while we have shown the present invention in connection with knuckles made to appear generally like those shown in the aforementioned design patent, it can easily be adapted to the hinge member design shown in Rocker 3,074,204 in which the fastening leaf is heart-shaped or the design shown in Young 3,046,570 in which the fastening leaf is an elongated triangle. The present invention may be so adapted to these two latter designs merely be conforming the shape and dimensions of the cap while retaining its features by which the cap completely covers the leaf and contains the means for self-snapping securement. The depth of the cut-away over the leaf portion and the depth of the adjacent shoulder are of course within the scope of the designer and it is foreseen that on some occasion it might not be necessary or required to create such a construction.

Numerous other modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. It will also be apparent that as far as the present invention is concerned, it is applicable equally to seat as well as cover hinge knuckles.

It will thus be finally observed that the various objectives of the present invention are readily obtainable. Firstly, a hinge assembly is provided in which the metallic screws are completely concealed. Secondly, a hinge knuckle is provided in which there are no countersinkings visible or open to the reception of dirt. As seen in FIG. 1, there is at most a very thin part line between cap 50 and the remaining portion of the hinge member which, because of the accuracy at which plastic parts may be molded is virtually insignificant. Thirdly, there is provided a hinge assembly which by concealing the screw fasteners can now be made to appear as a single unitary device of the same color and design, more clearly harmonizing with overall decorative designs.

Having thus described the principle of the present invention and some of its various advantages, it is to be appreciated that various changes and modifications may be employed. It is therefore intended that the scope of this invention might be limited not by such description but only by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hinge construction for toilet seat and cover members, a contoured hinge knuckle comprising a bearing portion adapted for pivotal mounting about a support means, a leaf portion extending therefrom provided with a flat undersu'rface adapted to lie flush with the surface of said seat or cover and an outer surface parallel thereto having a planar cut-out portion depressed from the remainder thereof, said leaf being provided further with at least one bore extending normally through said cut-out portion by which said hinge knuckle may be fastened to said seat or cover member and separate cap means conforming in dimension and size to said cutout portion to enclose the same overlying said bore and conforming to the over-all contour of said hinge knuckle.

2. The hinge knuckle according to claim 1 in which said leaf portion and said cap are provided with mating grooves and detent means respectively so as to removablysecure said cap over said cut-out portion.

3. The hinge knuckle according to claim 1 wherein said cap means comprises a web portion and peripheral depending shirt, said web portion being adapted to fit over the cut-out portion of said leaf and said skirt being capable of engagement with the side of said leaf.

4. The hinge knuckle according to claim 3 in which said mating grooves and detent means are arrayed in triangular fashion about the edges of said leaf portion when said cap means encloses said cut-out portion.

5. The hinge knuckle according to claim 4 including a vertical groove within said cut-out portion, said cap being provided with a vertical fitting within said groove and a horizontal detent capable of engagement below the edge of said leaf.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 188,036 5/1960 Coggins 10-9 1,228,441 6/1917 Hubbard 16-148 2,169,059 8/1939 Soss et a1. 16-148 2,200,253 5/1940 Atwood 16-148 2,248,493 7/1941 Curtiss 16-148 2,585,836 2/1952 Quigley 16-148 3,046,570 7/ 1962 Young 4-240 3,075,204 1/ 1963 Rocker 4-236 3,277,500 10/ 1966 Carlson 4-236 FOREIGN PATENTS 415,416 8/1934 Great Britain. 642,484 9/ 1950 Great Britain. 781,087 3/1968 Canada. 372,692 12/ 1963 Switzerland.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner D. B. MASSENBERG, Assistant Examiner 

